


Wandering

by m_mandalore



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Fluff, Kissing, Romance, Slow Burn, The Mandalorian (TV) Season 2
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-13 18:21:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29158074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/m_mandalore/pseuds/m_mandalore
Summary: joone sadara is a natural-born helper. she wants to do her best in any way she can. lucky for her, din is in search of just that. someone who can help him.
Relationships: Din Djarin/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 5





	1. tatooine

A lost soul wandered the sand-covered planet known as Tatooine. Joone wasn’t quite sure how she had ended up here, but she knew well enough that it would be ages before she left. No many people willingly visited Tatooine. She couldn’t blame them, however, for her sake, she hoped someone would. Joone couldn’t remember the last time she’d been greeted with hospitality, or kindness for that matter, on the planet. Most creatures were cold and distant. But yet again she couldn’t blame them. Most beings who came to Tatooine weren’t often in search of companionship or a glass of bantha milk. Oh, how she would kill for a glass of bantha milk right now.

Not knowing how long she’d been roaming the dunes of the planet had taken a toll on her. The heat in the day and the brisk winds at night were no match for the thin, rag-like shall she had brought. If I could only find a booth. Or maybe a small village to take shelter in, she thought. The last time she had seen someone was when she had arrived. They had been kind enough to give her directions to a small city that could help her onto her feet on the foreign planet. This had been weeks ago. Maybe a month if she counted. Truth be told she had no idea where she was going. The last canteen of water was nearly empty and if she didn’t make it to civilization within the next few days she would be done for. 

Joone Sadara was not one to give up easily. She was a caretaker. A medic. She worked alongside droids and aided her higher-ups when they requested medical attention. She’d been sent to Tatooine, originally, to work with a woman by the name of Peli and offer assistance to her and her visitors. Joone was stubborn and never backed down from a challenge but this was a lot more than she had expected. The directions had become jumbled and rewritten in her brain leading her along a messy path. Not the route she should’ve taken. Joone was on her last leg of sanity. She needed sleep. Food. Water. And none of that was accessible in her current situation. 

She came to the top of a dune, knees sinking into the coarse sand. She would’ve prayed to the Maker at that moment if it hadn’t been for the small spiral of smoke she saw in the distance. A hut. Shelter. Grabbing her few belongings, she started down the steep dune, nearly tripping more than once. She followed the murky spiral until she reached its place of origin. A house... of some sort. It wasn’t the type of home she was used to, but Tatooine had surprised her in more ways than one and an architectural layout was the least of her concerns. 

Following the dimly lit path to an entrance, she tried to stay as quiet as possible. Attracting unwanted attention at the moment was not her game plan. She opened her mouth to speak and let out a hoarse “Hello?” into the darkness of the residence. The sound of falling scrap metal startled her in response as a curly-haired woman emerged from the darkness,

“Who are you? What are you doing here?” she questioned, mild hostility in her tone. Joone threw her hands up showing that she wasn’t looking for trouble.

“I’m so sorry. I was merely looking for a place to stay for the night. I was supposed to be looking for someone but I’m honestly not sure I’ll ever find them at this rate-” she paused. She was rambling to this poor woman. “I’m Joone. I’m a medic… of sorts.” She offered her hand to the woman, a cold breeze blowing a strand of hair into her eyes. The woman laughed lightly and shook her hand. 

“Peli Motto.” Joone’s eyes went wide, a look of relief washing over her. How many other Peli Motto’s could there be on Tatooine? She has to be the one I was looking for. She simply smiled. “You can stay here for now. It’s funny. You mentioned that you’re a medic I-” Peli paused. “I had requested a medic for my station and here you are. You don’t happen to know a man by the name of-”

“I do. I’m… I’m the medic you, uh, I’m her. I got lost.” She let out a timid chuckle. Peli snorted, shifting to go inside the dimly lit home. It was peaceful, the only other sounds being the whirring of small droids. Joone was used to droids though. She worked with them. Enjoyed their company, even. They rolled across the floor of Peli’s home, moving to their charging stations for the night, only to work in the morning. 

Peli stopped in front of a room, motioning for Joone to go inside and make herself comfortable. With a quick ‘thank you’ as well as a ‘where is your refresher?’ she was on her way to the most pleasant night sleep she’d had in weeks. The water from the ‘fresher wasn’t exactly the warmest, but it was better than none at all. Joone rinsed her hair, sighing at the feeling of clean water on her dehydrated skin. This was excellent. After weeks of searching for this woman, she’d finally located her. She’d finally be able to do her duty and help. Do what she enjoyed doing. Turning off the water, she stepped out and dried off. Changing into the clean shirt Peli had placed on the cot. Shelter. She was safe. 

Slipping under the sheet of the cot, she shut her eyes and drifted off into a coma-like state. No dreams, only the melodious sound of the stirring sand pelting the roof of Peli’s home. There was no fear within Joone. She felt secure with the woman, despite only knowing her for a brief amount of time. She would work for her, help her. Though Tatooine was a Maker-forsaken planet, it was starting to feel more livable. Joone had finally been greeted with the hospitality she craved. The soothing notion that she would no longer have to struggle over dunes of sand during the day or find holes to sleep in during the night put her to bed. And to bed she went, not a fear in her mind as she shut her eyes. No longer a lost soul wandering the sand-covered planet known as Tatooine, but a newly found soul bathing in the knowledge that she’d be safe for as long as she needed.


	2. helping hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joone decides that maybe lending a helping hand is the right thing to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi !!! sorry, this took longer than expected. I've been a bit busy with school and haven't gotten a good time to sit down and write, not to mention a mild writer's block but here we are :)

This morning was colder than others Joone had experienced on the planet thus far. While it was still bright and the familiar orange glow still lit the sands of Tatooine, the wind nipped differently at her bare elbows. She squinted in the direction of the busy droids as they worked to repair a ship. A new ship. One that hadn’t been there before. It was sparking, crying tears of electricity from its seams. 

She paced around in search of the woman she was sent to work for, eyes skidding from one corner of the space to another. The glare of sunlight in her eyes. She collided with a solid metal surface, wincing as she felt her nose push forcefully into the shiny wall in front of her. A soft ‘oof’ fell from her lips as she shook her head, looking towards whatever she had encountered. Before she could fully take in what she was seeing, Peli’s voice rang in her ears. “Oh! Joone, this is Mando. He’s a… well he’s a Mandalorian.” She laughed dryly. “He’s not very talkative so I figured I’d-”

The armored man in front of her tilted his head, eyes combing over her significantly smaller frame. Joone shifted her weight from one foot to the other, a feeling of unease surging through her veins. Maybe it was because she couldn’t see where the man’s eyes truly were or maybe it was because she couldn’t remember the last time she’d interacted, if ever, with a person in a full suit of armor. 

Joone gave a tight-lipped smile, aiming her gaze to where she assumed his eyes would be. “Joone Sadara. I’m… I’m helping Peli.” The words came out strained and slightly muffled as she looked back towards the beaten ship. “If you don’t mind me asking, what happened to your ship?” Her eyes flickered back to the helmeted figure.

“I do mind you asking.” He grumbled out, crossing his arms. His posture was that of someone who didn’t like to talk much. That of someone who was closed off and angry for reasons that had yet to be discussed. His posture, however, revealed something that seemed more interesting than the armored man himself: a small, green baby in a bag around his hip. It had large eyes that gleamed with curiosity and even larger ears that caught every word spoken. Joone was tempted to ask the man about his child but decided against it due to his standoffish demeanor. 

Peli noticed the tension, looking from person to person. Her expression somewhere between concern and delight, or perhaps a combination of both. She offered a half-smile and quickly jumped in, saving the conversation. “So, Mando, need a hand with your ship? Joone can watch your little green baby.” She wrung her hands, awaiting his response. 

“No.” He huffed, a slight shake of his helmet along with it. 

“But I’m busy with other clients.” Peli protested.

“Then I’ll take my business elsewhere.” He began to turn away back towards his ship, the baby cooing at his hip. Joone looked between Peli and the Mandalorian as he began to walk away. 

“Wait, wait!” She raised her voice lightly, trusting he would hear her. “I’m a medic. That’s what I’ve trained in any way. I’m great with young ones, regardless of species. You don’t have to trust me completely but believe Peli. Your child will be safe here.” Joone gave a half-hearted smile in hopes that it would sway the man’s opinion.

He turned slightly, his body language still that of a closed-off man. The helmet tilted slightly, his gaze aimed somewhere near her face. A soft sound came from the modulator, Joone assumed it was a sigh of defeat. He shook his head slightly, a potential sign of giving in. “Fine.” He began to remove the bag from his side to hand the Child off to Joone who would willingly care for the creature. “Be careful with him. He means more to me than anything else.” Joone gave a quick nod. “I’ll be back by tomorrow night at the latest.” And with that, he took off on the speeder-bike Peli had provided him.

__________

The nights had come and gone and the green child that the Mandalorian had entrusted Joone with was doing well. He was missing his father, no doubt, but he was doing good in the care of a stranger. He had fallen asleep in the hip sling while Joone had wandered around Peli’s home day after day. Though the home was mostly designed to allow for her and her mechanic-droids to fix up ships, some areas surprised Joone. 

The sound of a speeder-bike stirring up sand outside the hut startled her as she turned to exit Peli’s home, the fuzzy baby around her hip. He cooed at the sight of the man covered in armor, moving his small arms out towards him. A soft noise could be heard from behind the modulator in the helmet, Joone assume it was a chuckle of amusement in seeing his son. “He missed you.” She offered a smile towards the man, walking forwards to meet him and beginning to unhook the sling. 

“He usually comes with me.” He huffed out, throwing most of his weight onto one leg. “Wherever I go, he goes… until now I suppose.” 

Joone removed the child from the sling, handing both things to him. “Thank you.” He grumbled out. She assumed he meant ‘thank you for handing me my kid’ so she nodded without much thought to it. “Thank you for watching him. He can be a lot.” He corrected his statement. This brought a smile to her lips as she raised her gaze from the green baby attached to his ankle to where she figured his eyes would be. 

“It was no problem, but you should’ve trusted me to begin with. I know how to manage kids.” Her words were soft and assuring in a way. And though her statement held a snarky message, her tone was anything but.

The Mandalorian in front of her carried himself in a way that made him seem invincible. He tried to make himself appear unphased by snide remarks and words of judgment, but truth be told he was just as fragile as anyone else in the galaxy. Of course, he’d never tell anyone this. 

The man simply hummed in response and looked past her at the approaching woman behind her. Peli smiled at the man. “Razor Crest is all ready to go. She’s still pretty beat up though.” Looking behind her at the old ship. “I’m not sure if managing the ship all by yourself and watching the kid is the best idea-”

“It’ll be fine.” He grunted out. Peli looked towards you, disapproving of the Beskar-covered man’s decision.

“I could come with you.” Joone offered. While she meant it as a question, it came out more of a statement, which she blamed on Peli’s eager stare. “Yeah, I could come with you. Watch the kid, maybe help pilot if you need.” 

He simply stared in her direction, disapproving of the idea. “Have you ever flown a pre-imperial ship?” 

Joone pondered the question. The answer was no, but she’d met with plenty of pilots in her days as a medic who had flown pre-imperial ships. And all pilots ever do is talk about their ships. “No, not officially, but you could teach me if you need to.” Another grunt from the man. 

“No.” He said bluntly. “You took good care of the kid, yes, but I wouldn’t want to needlessly put you in harm’s way.” ‘How sweet,’ she thought sarcastically. 

“Would you be needlessly putting me in harm’s way if I offered to help?” This stumped him. She was asking to help him. She wanted to offer her support. And while he loved caring for the kid himself, taking care of a rickety ship and a child could be a lot of work. 

“I suppose not.” He mumbled, rolling his eyes beneath the helmet. “I won’t be able to pay you. At least... not well.” Joone shrugged. While credits were important, she figured it would be ok. She looked from Peli, who didn’t seem to be phased by any of this, back to the man. This was an important decision but she was okay with it. She wanted to be of help. And as a bonus, she’d get to see more of the galaxy. 

“It’s fine. I’d just like to help. Lessen the load.” She smiled. She wasn’t sure why she was helping him, but it felt right. 

“Okay.”


End file.
